Day 8: Herpetarium or Insectarium?

This morning we had two vets come in to do some medical work on a Reticulated Python that has been sick and not shedding properly. It took five zookeepers to hold the snake and the two vets to give various shots and some sort of IV to the snake. It looked like the five zookeepers were doing everything they could to keep the snake still but it was still able to move them at times. I picked up salad trays from some exhibits in the house and also from a room of animals off exhibit. I changed the water bowls for the Giant Haitian Galliwasps again as well as for the Pancake Tortoises and various lizards. When there was clean water, clean newspaper bedding, and the salad bowls removed, I went on to letting the desert tortoises soak for a few minutes.

Fly River Turtle

I finished the last few enclosures of desert tortoises after lunch and then did the dishes. One of the house interns started today, so I was able to be on my own for some things while he was getting trained on others. After dishes, both of us interns were taught how to clean the tanks for baby alligator snapping turtles. While the other intern practiced at that, I cleaned the black worms. In the same room as the alligator snapping turtles we cleaned out water bowls for some McCord's Box Turtles. They can reach adult size in about 4-5 years which I find amazing. I then learned how to backwash a sand filter for a few tanks with water turtles in it. I got to see the Fly River Turtle (Pig-Nosed Turtle) up close again, which always brings a smile to my face. In one of the other tanks there are two Red-Bellied Short-Necked Turtles, which really do have a red/pink colored plastron!! I also learned how to correctly hold an alligator snapping turtle and why/how you have to hold common snapping turtles differently (they have a long enough neck that they can swing around and bite your hand if you are holding them at the top of their shell. Alligator snapping turtles have a shorter neck and cannot reach your hand).

After break, the other intern and I got an in depth tour of the insect and mouse room. We had to clean water bowls for a few mice and then learn how to clean bins of....crickets. I avoided the insectarium for a reason... I understand the huge importance of having a healthy food source for your animals, but crickets still freak me out at the moment. Thankfully, after admitting my dislike for crickets, the other intern stepped in for some of the closer handling. Some of the crickets are fed food called a 'gut bomb' which adds nutrients and calcium to them so the animals that eat them can have a better food source. Evidently, crickets are very sensitive to too much moisture. They still need some moisture, so they are given 'Cricket Quencher', a gel-like substance, in order to give them the small amount of water they need. It was then time to gather trash, turn off the lights, and close up the herpetarium.

Reticulated Python

Red-Bellied Short-Necked Turtle